Florida State 80 Louisville 76 Game Recap

Florida State came into the Ville today to try to avenge a 73-69 loss in Tallahassee to Louisville in which they led by as much as 17 points. Both squads were looking for a key ACC victory after losing on Wednesday (Louisville lost to Virginia, Florida State to Wake Forest). Sophomore forward VJ King started the game off with a quick five points for Louisville, but the teams struggled shooting early on. At the halfway point of the first half, the home team led by a whopping score of 19-16. A back and forth scoring battle then broke out with Florida State taking their first lead of the ballgame with 3:38 left. A couple of tough 3’s allowed the Seminoles to claim a 39-38 halftime lead. Led by Deng Adel’s 14 points, the Cardinals shoot 50% from the field (45% from behind the arc). On the other hand, the visitors shot 50% from three; senior guard Braian Angola led with 11 first-half points. The key statistics for Louisville were 5 blocked shots, but 7 turnovers really killed momentum.

Photo Credit: Reginald Smith | Analyzed Sports

The second half saw more back and forth action with Braian Angola picking up a critical fourth foul with 13:33 left to go in the game. However, the ‘Noles used a big spark to maintain the lead for most of the second half. Cramps limited Louisville’s top player from seeing key crunchtime action in Ray Spalding. Two buckets by Anas Mahmoud and Deng Adel respectively, cut the Florida State lead to 3 as Louisville trailed 74-71 with 1:19 to go in regulation. Just as the game looked like it was slipping away, 5 straight points from Quentin Snider cut the lead to 2 with 24.7 seconds. Terance Mann blocked VJ King’s floater and MJ Walker raced down to seal the deal. The two ACC opponents split the series at Florida State won 80-76.Six Florida State players scored in double figures; Deng Adel (17 points), Quentin Snider (15 points, 7 assists), and Ray Spalding (13 points, 9 boards) led the way for Louisville.

Photo Credit: Reginald Smith | Analyzed Sports

Louisville falls to 16-7 and drops to 6-4 in the ACC and will be back in action Monday at home against Syracuse at 7:00 PM on ESPN; Florida State rises to 17-6 and moves to 6-5 in conference play. Their next contest will be on Wednesday as they host first-place Virginia at 7:00 PM.